Prime
On Kabushenga, Joshua Kitakule and my rebellion against farming
What you need to know:
- Aspiration. So, whether President Museveni is on the ballot in 2021 or not, I am likely to be introducing myself as a farmer from Kiburara and Luweero.
- With this forceful conscription into farming, I am here to report that my rebellion against farming is weakening. But I will need the courage and energy of Kabushenga and the strong belief and conviction of my brother Amis. About bananas, I am now convinced that they could become easily the ‘cotton’ of 1950-1970s. So, whether President Museveni is on the ballot in 2021 or not, I am likely to be introducing myself as a farmer from Kiburara and Luweero.
The rumour in town is that Mr Robert Kabushenga of Vision Group now introduces himself as a farmer. And then, as if it is an after-thought, goes like: by the way, I am also the CEO of Vision Group. I know Robert Kabushenga. His defining element is passion (drive) and ambition (pursue for achievement). He used to be a socialite, political ideologue, and regular newspaper columnist.
And by the way, he also knows music. The Saturday after the death of former military ruler Idd Amin, he played Orchestre Les Mangelepas’ ‘Embakasi’ on Capital FM’s Capital Ganga. But in farming he seems to have (at last) found where to offload that passion and ambition. And boy, oh boy, the energy he deploys unto his new-found love…!
In January, I posted some photos on my Facebook account. I was captured in the middle of well-tended banana plantation. I received (and accepted) compliments as the owner. An old friend, now in Canada even suggested hiring me to manage her farm (which is not far from my brother’s banana plantation).
Kabushenga went into my inbox. And he praised and encouraged me. I dropped the masquerade and told him the truth: Robert, that is my young brother Amis Asuman’s banana plantation. By the way, I am very rebellious against farming.Yes, the banana plantation belonged to my brother Amis.
On Friday June 1, I went to Joshua Kitakule’s office. Joshua is the secretary general of Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), the good people who organised the Presidential Debate of 2016 (and are soon bringing you the Uganda National Dialogue).
While I was in his office, Joshua ordered for tissue culture banana suckers to take to what he calls his ‘small thing’ in Bugiri. Then Joshua told the driver to ‘bring some suckers for Asuman. Even, without even asking me whether I would like to…’
I thought to myself, what if I don’t like farming? When the driver returned, I picked two suckers of Mpologoma and two of Nfuuka. I teased Joshua that I will name the banana plants after him. ‘No problem. So long as you eat or sell the bananas, not Kitakule,’ he joked.
My young brother Amis has put up an acre of tissue culture suckers on my small patch of land in Kiburara. He is shouldering and says I will take over the management of the plantation after the first harvest.
As usual, I was reluctant to warm up to the idea. But he literarily forced me. ‘Boss, your school fees was paid by proceeds from farming and you are here acting clever and sweet on farming. We need food for the family and the country. And for cash…’ he dismissed my misgivings. As is the wont of farmers, he then went into the money making aspect of a banana plantation. And so in a year’s time, I may return here boasting as the proud owner of a banana plantation in Kiburara. For the sake of total disclosure, at least you know my benefactor: It is a grant aid from my young brother Amis.
With this forceful conscription into farming, I am here to report that my rebellion against farming is weakening. But I will need the courage and energy of Kabushenga and the strong belief and conviction of my brother Amis. About bananas, I am now convinced that they could become easily the ‘cotton’ of 1950-1970s. So, whether President Museveni is on the ballot in 2021 or not, I am likely to be introducing myself as a farmer from Kiburara and Luweero.
Mr Bisiika is the executive editor of East African Flagpost.
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